Our reporter/ Bola Tinubu of the ruling APC and his legal team is opposing the application by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, for a live broadcast of the proceedings of the election petition.
In response to the application on Wednesday, Tinubu and the Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima, through the team of their lawyers led by Wole Olanipekun said the application is an abuse of court process.
They asked the presidential election petition court to dismiss the application, arguing that the relief demanded by the applicants is not such that the court could grant it.
Besides describing the application as frivolous, they said the court was not a rostrum, soapbox, stadium, nor theatre or an arena for public entertainment.
They stated, in the counter affidavit, that the application was linked to policy formulation of the court, which is outside the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT)’s jurisdiction as constituted.
They argued that Atiku and his party failed to draw the court’s attention to the fact that practice directions were made by the respective courts for the exercise.
The application, in their view, also touched on the powers and jurisdiction vested in the President of the Court of Appeal by the constitution, over which the court as presently constituted cannot entertain.
They held that it was in the interest of justice for the court to dismiss the said application filed by the petitioners.
They added that at the very best, the application was “academic, very otiose, very unnecessary, very time-wasting, most unusual and most unexpected, particularly, from a set of petitioners, who should be praying for the expeditious trial of their petition”.
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has also asked the presidential election petition court (PEPC) to dismiss an application filed by the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, seeking to have the proceeding televised.
Levy Ozoukwu, counsel to Obi and LP, who made the disclosure while briefing reporters on Wednesday said INEC opposed their application for a live broadcast.
“Surprisingly, INEC is objecting,” the senior lawyer said.
“A public institution that is being funded by the government and representing the people is saying they don’t want the people to enjoy live streaming. What are they hiding?
“INEC sees itself as a candidate in an election that it conducted. I say with every degree of emphasis going by the conduct of INEC.
“In court, no other party is complaining about not getting documents. Why is it so?”
“Only the petitioners who have not been provided with the required documents and I keep on asking, what is INEC hiding?”
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